There was a TON of Magic played last week. We had a ton of Standard in GP Montreal, GP Santiago, and the Magic Online Championship. We also got to see one of the coolest formats in SCG Louisville, team constructed featuring Standard, Modern AND Legacy. It's notable that this was the first major Legacy even post bans. Let's see how much market action was affected by the various tournament results.
Hey, look at that! Another -1/-1 card spiked this week. Harbinger of Night is one most people forgot about, but it definitely is in the spotlight now. It's far from an efficient -1/-1 giving creature, but it is indiscriminate. Heck, it will even end itself in three turns, provided you don't pump it or remove the counters. I've started to see -1/-1 counter themed Commander decks, and with all these cards spiking, I can't imagine that now is the best time to build one. Maybe wait a bit until all this hype settles down.
Winds of Change are a commin’! Well, the Legends version is. A somewhat underplayed card, Winds of Change tends to find a home in decks that punish card draw, like Nekusar, the Mindrazer and combo decks that need as many looks at cards as they can get. Lately many older cards have been getting bought up, and I’m not sure how much of it is the usual, unpredictable market, or some kind of speculation regarding future sets. Iconic Masters is still top secret, so we will have to wait and see what exactly is going on here.
Aladdin's Ring has been printed into oblivion, but the Arabian Night’s printing saw a healthy gain this week. The border is sweet, the mana cost is ridiculous and the art is…unique. There was a time when the effect was actually quite powerful, but paying 16 mana to Flame Slash or cast one part of Boros Charm seems pretty bad by comparison. That being said, it’s an iconic piece of Magic history and a very cool card to see in person.
Enchantments are making a showing this week with Enchantress's Presence leading the charge. A long time mainstay in any type of enchantress type deck, Enchantress's Presence is a more difficult to remove than a creature and provides a powerful effect for the decks. The art is very reminiscent of something you would see in Morningtide or Lorwyn.
Black Sun's Zenith is one of the most fun -1/-1 counter cards to play. It has seen play in various Commander decks as an indiscriminate way to handle basically everything that moves. Now that we are in the age of -1/-1 counters, all of the suns are black. Besides, any card that shuffles into your library after you cast it is perfectly fine by me!
Foils of the Week!
Throne of Geth is a really neat card, and an expensive foil now. Foil Vizier of Remedies is already starting to get picked up as more and more people move into the combo. Foil Deflecting Palm decided to make moves this week. It sees play in Modern as a sideboard card for burn. Merfolk players rejoice! Foil Silvergill Adept has shot through the roof this week. Finally, surprise, surprise, foil Devoted Druid has basically doubled in price.
Cheap pickups of the Week!
It may be too late to mention this, but spoilers have hit the scene for Commander 2017, and man have we got some Dragons!! I’m willing to be everything dragon related will be getting swooped up on in the next few days, so hopefully cards aren’t too expensive by time you read this. Here are a few cheap examples of cards to get for a dragon deck: Wild Pair, Dragonlord's Servant, Dragonspeaker Shaman, Crux of Fate, Dragon Tempest, Bladewing the Risen and of course Haven of the Spirit Dragon
MTGStocks Mystery chart of the Week!
Last week, I gave no clues and only left you with the chart for Eye of Ugin. People familiar with the spike quickly picked up on it. This week, I will do the same and leave you with just a chart, however you should pay close attention to when the spike happened.
Conversation of the Week
Commander 2017 spoilers have started. With some key words like Eminence being revealed, Wizards is firmly pushing tribes to 11. It’s fantastic to see characters like O-Kagachi finally make it to a card. Sometimes characters are too powerful to actually become a card, like Urza or Yagmowth, so it makes me happy when we get to revisit old lore. I think Wizards should do that more often, as having to wait to actually see the power level on a card is fun. Unless it’s Ludevic, Necro-Alchemist. He made me sad.
The best Commander card you’re not playing!
Well, in honor of Dragons, my favorite tribe next to Eldrazi, the best card you’re not playing this week is Wild Pair. While this card can be good in other decks, it’s an absolute beat down in a dragon deck. It counts total power/toughness, so 4/4, 5/5 and 6/6 are all gas. Cast a Dragon Broodmother to tutor up your Bladewing the Risen and bring back yet another dragon. I played this in my dragon tribal deck, and there weren’t many cards that couldn’t be find a pair.